How to pick an Italian restaurant in the US

Meat and pasta together ? Stay away !

I have lived in the US now for over 20 years. I still go four times a year to Italy so my taste buds have remained pretty much Italian so I had to find a reliable methods to distinguish authentic Italian restaurants from the others -- I will call them "Italian-American" -- which I dislike.

Most large Italian-American food chains in the US chains offer overcooked pasta with some sort of sauce always heavy with garlic powder on top. After that, you can have a salad with "Italian dressing" - who knows what it is in there!  I can smell old style Italian American food usually from across the road from the smell of the heavy powder garlic they place all over the food.

Meatballs on white pasta?

Here is my advice on

Where not to eat :

I realized that I can also spot an old style Italian-American restaurant form the menu. The more items in the following list appear on the menu the less authentically Italian is the Restaurant. So let's see the list of what to avoid if you like Italian food like it is cooked in Italy. More of this items are on the menu the less it scores for me.

Appetizers & Salads ( what to avoid )
Garlic Bread 
Cheese Garlic Bread
Fried Mozzarella sticks
Caesar salad

Pasta/pizza ( what to avoid )

Good Restaurant - Nice Looking salad !!

Spaghetti with meatballs
Spaghetti with Marinara sauce
Pasta  Alfredo
Pizza with pepperoni (the American meat variety, not peppers)
Pizza with chicken or meat on it, or worse yet, lasagna

Second course ( what to avoid )
Chicken / veal picatta
Eggpant parmesan
Chicken / Veal Marsala
Meatball Parmesan Tuscan Chicken (whatever that is) Cheese Provolone
Asiago

Dessert
Spumoni

Traditional Italian restaurant

In these reataurants, bread is usually served with powder garlic on top and of course the pasta is served in the same dish as the meat second course (e.g. chicken etc). ...
In many cities, however, new small restaurants managed by Italians are opening and Italian food continues to improve. In any case I should write a full article for the main website about this. How to spot a good menu of modern authentic Italian food.

Where to eat:

Appetizers & Salads ( what to look for )
Prosciutto e Melone
Insalata Caprese ( Insalata caprese con Mozzarella di Bufala )
Salads that include Radicchio or Rughetta (Arugula) , asparagus , avocado
Some sort of Tuna or steak tartar
Salmon
Something in Balsamic Vinegar
Something in truffle sauce
Bruschetta (  Toasted Bread with fresh Chopped Cherry Tomatoes, Basil, small amount of Garlic and Olive Oil )

Pasta / Pizza ( what to look for )
Fresh Tagliatelle and many diiferent pasta shape ( tonnarelli, strozzapreti,  paccheri )
Spaghetti alle Vongole ( clams )
Spaghetti with seafood
Tortelloni
Gnocchi e gnocchetti
Pizza from a wood burning oven (margarita, napoletana, with rughetta, with porcini mushrooms, with radicchio e gorgonzola, mozzarella di bufala e cherry tomatoes)

Entree ( what to look for )
Grigliata mista di carne o pesce
Skewer (spiedini) with fish or meat
Grilled meat or chicken with rosemary
Lamb marinated in Lemon and Rosemary
Steak in Truffle sauce
Artichokes
Porcini mushrooms

Cheeses :
Mozzarella di Bufala Campana
Pecorino Toscano

Desserts / I Dolci
Assorted Tuscan cookies served with sweet "dipping" wine.
Assorted homemade ice creams and fresh fruit sorbets.
Tiramisu

Availability of Fresh seasonal fruit is a plus as well.

Of course there are also restaurants that are in the middle of the spectrum and try to make everybody happy so you might find a mix of items.  One relatively recent kind is the italian restaurant that offers excellent bread with excellent olive oil or olive tapinade as an appetizer.  There's nothing wrong with bread dipped in olive oil -- I love it -- but it is typically not offered as an appetizer in Italy because it fills you up too much and detracts from the main meal.

Ciao a tutti e buon appetito !

By Paolo Nascimbeni